The Villain in the Mirror
by Cantfindacoolunusedname
Summary: My first fan-fic! A woman is kidnapped, however the case is not as simple as it first appeared. The team finds themselves up against the most unusual un-sub.
1. Chapter 1

**The Villain in the Mirror – Prologue **

She awoke abruptly. Staring at her ceiling she felt her pulse rise as she sensed another presence in the small, moonlit room. She dared not move, not even to draw a shallow breath. After a few moments of rigid stillness, though it felt like hours, she risked darting her eyes to the dark wooden door that was the entrance to her bedroom. Staring hard into the darkness and trying to focus on the outlines of the objects scattered through her room, she saw nothing that should cause alarm. Moving her head cautiously, fearful of what she may find, she scanned the rest of her cluttered room. Her eyes registered nothing unusual.

Letting out a long breathe into the cold air, she willed herself to relax once again, desperate to fall into the slumber she had been so suddenly stolen away from.

"Just me," she whispered in an attempted to re-assure herself and calm her racing mind.

Closing her eyes once more, she attempted to find that peaceful place in her over worked mind.

"No," said another, cold and dazed voice.

She snapped her eyes open, feeling her heart pick up speed in her chest and her hands tighten on the sheets around her.

"It's just us." The voice finished as a previously unseen figure appeared beside her and blocks any trace of the pale moonlight that was streaming through the curtained window.

She opened her mouth but her vocal chords, much like the rest of her body, became paralysed as she succumbed to the fear that had threatened to swallow her just minutes earlier. Unable to see and unable to move she was helpless as the figure placed a cloth over her pale mouth and nose. She fought with her mind, willing herself to stay awake, but she knew her efforts were to no avail as her hand loosened its grip on the sheets that she had thought would protect her. Feeling her eyes grow heavy, she regretted her earlier wish for sleep.

**Please leave some feedback! I would truly appreciate some constructive criticism. **


	2. Chapter 2

**The Villain In the Mirror – Chapter 1**

Emily Prentiss lay in her newly purchased bed staring at the grey green wall next to her. Her dark hair spread across the white pillow and her body tangled in her favourite linen set. As she stared she could see the sunlight fighting the shadows on her wall as it poured in from the wood framed windows across her organised room. Next to her bed sat a second hand bedside table with a large black radio alarm clock. Emily let out a sigh and grudgingly rolled onto her other side in time to switch off the alarm before it actually performed its duty. She rolled onto her back and simply lay there for a moment, mentally preparing herself for the long day ahead. Sitting up slowly she looked down at the wooden floor in search of some slippers to protect her pale feet from the early morning winter air. She sat for a moment, not quite ready to stand. As she ran her hand through her hair she heard her phone vibrate on the bedside table beside her. Frowning, she reached for her phone, suspecting that any message arriving so early in the morning would be of great importance. At once she felt the blood drain from her face. The message read:

Join me and live in peace

Turn your back and face the unknown

Bitting her lip she considered her options. She had been receiving these messages in different forms over the last two weeks. She was half-tempted to continue ignoring the messages, but her past training and practical experience told her she would be fooling herself.

"Ugh." She moaned to herself, "why me?"

Spencer Reid walked briskly to his assigned desk located in the Bullpen of the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit. He had arrived early with a smile on his face, determined to finish the book he had begun on the train journey to work earlier that morning before his colleagues arrived for the day. Opening his well-worn satchel, he retrieved the large maroon book and settled into his chair. He took a moment to find his place and then allowed his eyes to scan over the words as he traced the middle of each page with a long pointer finger. He closed the book as the clock ticked over to 8:30am. Reid's smile broadened as he saw his supervisor moving along the upper walk-way as he travelled to his office. Reid took a moment to wave and received a polite smile and nod from his boss.

Leaning back into his chair, Reid inwardly hoped that there would be a new case today. Not that he would wish harm on anyone, but rather because he felt unnecessary and unneeded while he was not using his mind to profile a un-sub or to find a missing person. Tilting his head back he weaved his long, skinny hands together and studied the roof for a few minutes, lost in thought.

"Morning, Pretty boy," came the friendly tease of Reid's co-worker and close friend, Derek Morgan. Reid smiled at the African American.

"Good morning Morgan. I trust you had a pleasant weekend?" Reid enquired.

Morgan's mouth turned up into an attractive smile.

"Yeah I did." He responded with a twinkle in his eye. "And what did the young Dr. Reid get up to?"

Reid sat straight in his chair, a broad and excited smile taking over his features.

"Well actually I attended a lecture at one of the local universities." He answered, his voice pitching slightly in excitement.

The smile fell slightly from Morgan's face.

"You had a whole weekend to do anything you wanted and you chose to go to a lecture?" He asked with a ridiculous looking covering his face.

Not even noticing his friend's lack of enthusiasm, Reid pushed ahead with his story, condemning Morgan to a five minute epic on the effects of social media on teens.

Jennifer Jereau stood at her desk within the confines of her office as she prepared to present the most recent case to her team. The petite blonde cringe as a wave of guilt washed over her, she felt it was unfair to drop this case on her team on their first day back in the office.

Going over the case details in her mind, JJ couldn't stop the feeling of utter disgust that grew in her heart. Some people truly deserved to die for their crimes. She stopped her thoughts quickly, trying to regain control of her facial expression and distance herself from the victims who had the misfortune of finding their names on her desk.

Picking up the separate files that contained a copy of the current case for each agent of her team, she walked out of her office with practised confidence to the briefing room to deliver and over view of the latest crime committed by their newest un-sub.

Aaron Hotchner let out an exasperated breathe as he hurried from his personal office to the teams briefing room. He was running late. This bothered him more than it would the others as he held a certain amount of pride in his commitment to the team and his commitment to being on time. He would never tolerate tardiness from them, why should they make an exception for him. He entered the darkened room quietly, sending an apologetic glance to JJ, who clearly wanted to begin as soon as possible.

"My apologise." He said looking around the round table to his team, "whenever you're ready JJ."

He opened up the file in front of him, mentally preparing for the worst, but letting none of it show on his handsome face.

JJ confirmed her willingness to begin by sending him a curt nod.

"This arrived on my desk this morning." JJ began, pressing the button on her remote as images of the latest victim began to appear on the T.V screen directly behind her.

"A thirty-year-old woman named Mikayla Upton has disappeared from the apartment she shared with her flat mate Sarah Kaleb. Sarah says she found a note by the bed and a chloroform rag on the pillow. This follows the vanishings of three other women under similar circumstance in the same area." JJ said, pushing long strands of hair behind her ear.

"Any DNA evidence on the rag or note?" asked Morgan.

"None," She answered simply.

Pressing the 'next' button on her remote, the image of the note filled the screen. Emily Prentiss' face visibly paled.

Join me and live in peace

Turn your back and face the unknown

Reid read this aloud for the whole group as if he believed the whole group would benefit from hearing the words spoken.

Prentiss sunk slowly back into her chair, silently vowing to catch this un-sub before he got to her.

"Any recent visitors or workers to the apartment?" asked the older gentleman of the team, David Rossi.

"No." JJ informed him.

"What can you tell us about the past victims?" Hotch enquired.

"As I said before there are three prior victims believed to have been abducted by this un-sub." JJ pushed yet another button and the faces of three women appeared on the screen behind her.

"The first was Lorna Coral, seventeen and a high school dropout. She worked at the café across from the apartment she shared with her Mother and sister. Second is Carrie Davis, twenty-one and a stay at home Mum. Lastly is Samara Lexing, twenty-four and managed a local ice-skating rink. All three women complained about receiving messages, identical to the one Reid read earlier, all were abducted within a month of receiving the first note. None have been seen since."

Prentiss swallowed hard. Each victim had dark hair, dark eyes and fair skin, much like herself.

"Well, he definitely has a type." Rossi said, driving home Prentiss' fears.

"How long between each victim?" Morgan asked.

"There is no exact time but the local authorities believe it could be as little a week," JJ explained, keeping her expression neutral.

"We don't have much time then, he's probably already targeted a new victim," Hotch said. "We leave in fifteen minutes."

**Thanks for reading! Please leave some constructive criticism!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Villain in The Mirror – Chapter 2.**

David Rossi sat in the front seat of the black SUV as they drove the short distance between their headquarters and Stafford. Turning his tanned, Italian face he looked at his fellow agent and frowned.

"Something bothering you?" he asked.

Emily's eyes widened slightly.

"Uh, no" she replied all too quickly. "Why do you ask?"

"You were quiet during the briefing is all," Rossi explained.

He was grateful that it was only the two of them in the car, fully aware that agent Prentiss would not divulge any information if the others were present. After much silence, Emily revealed her short lived secret.

"I received a message this morning." She revealed in a near whisper.

Rossi raised a dark eyebrow, truly concerned for his friend.

"Oh?"

Emily swallowed the sick fear in her throat and recited the words that would be forever etched into her mind.

"Join me and live in satisfaction." She stopped, knowing she need not say more.

Rossi felt an angry protectiveness stir within him, Picking up his phone he immediately called his supervisor.

"Hotch here" came the serious tone of the special agent.

"Hotch, it's Rossi. I think I found our next target."

Emily gripped the black steering wheel tightly, willing away unwanted tears.

Hotch ended his call with Rossi as soon as all the relevant information had been passed along.

"Rossi believes he knows who our un-sub will target next" he explained to the agents travelling with him.

Reid looked interested and poked his head between the two passenger seats so to be included in the conversation.

"Who?" he asked.

Hotch hesitated a moment, unsure of how to break the news to the younger agents.

"Who?" Morgan asked, echoing Reid.

"Emily Prentiss." Hotch simply stated.

Reid's young face showed his emotions clearly, betraying his efforts to remain calm or to at least appear so. Had the newest target been an un-known of foreign name he may have rambled out some semi-relevant data on serial abductions within America. But this was his friend! A woman he truly cared for.

"Are, uh. Is he sure?" Reid asked, desperately hoping for it to be a gross misunderstanding.

"Certain" Hotch replied, his voice betraying the hardness of his face. "Rossi says that Emily told him about some messages she had been receiving that was identical to the message the other victims received before they disappeared."

Morgan frowned, hitting the steering wheel and then gripping it tightly in an effort to remain calm.

"Will she remain on the case?" enquired Reid as lines appeared on his forehead and concern darkened his brown eyes.

Morgan glanced at his supervisor. The toned man new that Hotch would feel obliged to stick to procedure but would hesitate to pull a good agent from the field.

"She'll stay" Hotch finally decided. "We can try and convince he un-sub that we are unaware of his latest victim."

"You mean use Emily as bait" Morgan stated coldly.

"He's left nearly no gap between his last victim and Emily, so the chances are that he will attempt an attack on her sooner than his previous victims" Reid said, concern pitching his voice slightly.

Hotch frowned severely.

"Prentiss is able to defend herself. If we keep her with Rossi at all times the un-sub may be less willing to attack."

"But what f he still does?" Morgan asked.

"Be ready." Hotch answered.

**Thanks for reading this. Please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 3**

Penelope Garcia sat in her office at the FBIs Quantico Headquarters waiting for her team to inform her of their arrival to Stafford. She tapped the end of her fluffy hot pink pen against the desk that was dimly lit by the rooms many computers, She hated them going away, although she remained busy at the headquarters, she couldn't help but worry about her friends. Garcia sat up quickly and practically threw her plus sized frame at her phone as soon as it began to ring.

"Talk to me." She said in a seductive purr.

"Hey baby girl." The rich voice on the end drawled.

"Hey my chocolate man," she teased back, "what can I get for ya?"

"Garcia, before you start you should know something."

"Morgan. What's wrong?" she asked filled with genuine concern for her favourite agent.

"The un-sub has targeted Emily. He's left her a few messages including a text message on her phone this morning." Morgan explained quickly.

"No." She whispered. Then determination filled her, she said; "all the more reason to find this guy."

"Okay baby, we'll call when we have more information."

The line went dead. Garcia hung up slowly, her blonde head lowered slightly out of concern for her friend.

The, with a forced confidence she said:

"Bring it on."

Spencer Reid was frustrated. He ran a long hand through his freshly cut brown hair, his mind racing a million miles an hour, but he seemed to be getting nowhere.

"Why would he break his pattern in the time between his victims. I mean, a week is short as it is, bordering on insane, but any less than that is practically begging to be caught." He pondered aloud.

Hotch turned to see the smart, young agent staring at the evidence board with a puzzled expression on his face.

They had recently arrived at the Stafford police station and had stopped only to brief the local authorities in the new details of the case. The room they stood in was small and well lit by three florescent lights on the white ceiling. The walls were painted an off white colour and the walls that faced the corridor outside were made of glass, covered only by thin, white blinds. In the centre of the room was a rectangle table with just enough seats to fit the entire FBI team around it at any given time. The rest of the room held brown pin boards with paper pinned to them by mismatched pins.

"With the other victim's he left a hand written note, every time, he never strayed from hand written notes. Yet with Prentiss he left a text message." Hotch added.

"That doesn't match either." Morgan added, standing on the opposite side of Reid, "text messages are easily traced.

"I agree," Reid said, his eyes still glued to the brown board that was covered in photographs and pieces of paper.

Hotch turned from the board and called his team in so that they were standing in a circle around the table in the centre of the room.

"Emily and Rossi. I want you two together. Go to Mikayla Upton's apartment and interview he roommate. Go." He ordered them.

Prentiss and Rossi nodded to their boss and left immediately to perform their duties.

"JJ and Morgan. Go to the first victims house and see what you can find, then work your way through the next two victims."

JJ turned to leave, however, Morgan hesitated for one moment.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Morgan."

"Will Emily be okay?" Morgan asked.

Hotch allowed a small portion of his concern to show on his face.

"Morgan. We're all concerned about her safety. But you know I would have sent her back if I thought she would be in danger out here. Now go."

Morgan nodded slowly, a tight frown forming. Then, turning sharply, he joined JJ at the glass door and walked away from the room that had been provided to them by the Stafford police department.

"Where do you want me?" Asked Reid.

"I want you to keep working on the profile based on the evidence we have. Time is of the essence so we require a fast worker to get through the evidence quickly. We will re-group and give a detailed profile when we have more information."

Reid nodded, holding back his concern for Prentiss and focussed his great mind on profiling the un-sub.

**Thanks for reading this. Please leave some feedback. **


	5. Chapter 5

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 4**

It was only a few minutes later that Garcia's phone rang.

"Your wish is my command!" she exclaimed, ready to help.

"Garcia, its Reid."

"What can I do for the young doctor?" Garcia asked.

Reid smiled as the use of the title.

"Garcia, can you get me a list of all the females in Stafford who suffer from a mental illness?"

Garcia's fingers flew across the keyboard, she frowned.

"You think the un-subs a woman?" She asked as she typed.

"Well yes," Reid replied as if it were perfectly obvious. "One only need look at the message a few times to see the femininity of the hand writing and also the poetic sound of the message. Statistically speaking, men are less likely to leave a note, much less a well presented and well thought out one."

"Uh-huh." Garcia said. "Okay, I've got the names. But there are a lot here, can you narrow it down?"

Reid was silent for a moment, he shoved one hand into his pants pocket as his mind raced ahead.

"She's most likely been on the list for a long time with strong medication, but hasn't taken any recently, which could be the reason for the lack of space between abductions. Look for illnesses like Schizophrenia and paranoia."

"On it!" She said happily.

"Okay, can you call me back when you finish?"

"Of course," she reassured him.

"Oh, Garcia." He said as an after-thought, "Were you able to trace the number on Emily's phone?"

"Yes," Garcia replied before elaborating, "It was a cheap throw away phone that was probably disposed of right after the message was sent.

"Oh," Reid said, his face fell a little. "Thanks."

**Thanks for reading this. It was an extremely short chapter but I really wanted to focus on Reid beginning the profile. Please let me know what you think. **


	6. Chapter 6

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 5**

The small apartment they were walking towards reminded Emily of the cubby house she had played in as a child. Dark blue textured walls complimented the lush forest green runner on the wooden floor and surrounded the dark, wooden door of the victim's apartment. Of course the memory was only in her mind, the cubby house she had played in as a child had been nothing more than ply wood and tin, but in young Emily's mind, it had been a palace fit for a queen.

She reached out her fist and knocked politely on the expensive door.

"Not a bad place," Rossi commented from beside her as he straightened he pristine suit.

The door opened slightly, catching on a security chain within the apartment. An olive face framed by a mass of dark, slightly frizzy curls appeared in the gap between the door and its frame, staring with wide, hazel eyes at the two agents.

"Came I help you?" Came the soft question of the apartment's lone occupant.

"Sarah Kaleb?" Emily inquired.

The woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties nodded her head slowly, confirming her identity.

"Sarah, I'm special agent Prentiss and this is special agent Rossi. We're from the FBI"

The two agents showed her their identification.

"Do you mind if we come in and ask a few questions?" Rossi asked the woman softly.

Sarah looked suspiciously between the two agents before releasing the security chain and opening the door so to allow access to the two special agents.

Emily couldn't help but feel surprised at the inside of the apartment, looking hesitantly over to Rossi, she saw the same surprised expression on his face.

Although it was a beautiful apartment, boasting a white bay window, forest green patterned wall paper, dark timber floors and exquisite Persian rugs, it was a chaotic mess. Newspapers, clippings, journals, stationary and unwashed dishes were strewn about the living area of the apartment. To add to this cluttered feel was the dimness of the warm room. The owner had closed the curtains to the large bay windows and was relying on the yellowing light provided from several small light bulbs that had been hung at different lengths in an attempt to modernise the otherwise antique apartment.

Sarah looked around at the mess, her eyes widening and a pink hue appearing on her slightly rounded cheeks as if she had not noticed the mess earlier.

"Please forgive the mess." She said, desperately trying to redeem herself, "Have a seat on the couch."

She moved in the direction of the two leather pinned couches, desperately grabbing the piles of paper and shoving them under her arms and then dumping them into a semi neat pile on the wooden coffee table that sat in the centre of the room, beneath the lights.

"Thankyou Ms, Kaleb." Rossi said graciously.

"I'm so, so sorry for the mess. I'm afraid I didn't handle Mikayla's disappearance very well."

Emily nodded sympathetically.

"Sarah. I know this is hard for you, but we need you to tell us anything you can that could help us find Mikayla." Prentiss explained, concern showing on her fine features.

Sarah sat across from them on the other side of the coffee table on an identical couch and clasped her small hands together tightly on her lap.

"I've told the police everything already." She said quietly.

"If you could repeat the information to us it would help in our investigation. Also, repeating your story may help you remember details you previously forgot." Rossi explained softly, leaning forward to lean on his knees in his spot on the slightly uncomfortable couch.

"We both went to our rooms a little later than usual," Sarah began after a moment's hesitation. "We were watching movies."

"Did she seem worried or upset about anything?" Emily asked, taking advantage of Sarah's pause.

The short and slightly plump women thought for a moment, raising her hand from her lap to play with the ends of her long hair.

"Yes! Come to think of it she was." As Sarah said this her voice grew slightly stronger revealing a faint British accent. Emily's eyebrows shot up at the other woman's response.

"How so?" Rossi inquired.

"She was concerned about our maid, Bella, who had just quit. She didn't know how we would find time to maintain the apartment while we both worked full time."

As Sarah said this, it simultaneously struck Rossi and Prentiss that this woman knew nothing about the notes.

"Why did the maid leave?" Emily pushed.

"Oh!" Sarah exclaimed, a small sparkle appearing in her slightly tilted eyes, as though she was sharing a juicy secret with a close friend.

"Bella ran away to be with her fiancé in New York."

Emily nodded, realising this information would get them nowhere.

"Would you be able to show us Mikayla's rooms?" Rossi asked.

"Of course," the younger women replied.

**#boom. Please leave an encouraging/constructive review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 6**

Spencer joined his hands together behind his neck as he stretched his long frame. His long sleeved, white office shirt sleeves were now unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows. He dressed in something of a mix between office and casual. His white shirt provided a certain amount of sophistication, while his dark green knitted vest and black converse shoes showed a little of his quirky character. His hands escaped their grip on each other as his phone vibrated in his grey pants pocket. Pulling out the brick like device her placed it to his ear.

"Hello."

"Reid, how's the profile coming along?" Hotch inquired.

Habitually putting his unused hand behind his head again as he turned away from the cluttered evidence board to face the blinded windows that separated him from the rest of the police station.

"She's good. The controlled amount of evidence she leaves behind after taking each victim shows a certain degree of attention to detail, she's trying to stay in control of the evidence we have." Reid reported.

"Wait, she?" Hotch checked.

"Yes, I would let the others know too. The level of drama and the attention to detail is more so characteristic of women than men." Reid explained.

"Okay, I'll let the others know. What have you gathered from the note?" asked the other agent.

"There is obviously a narcissistic personality disorder." Reid explained as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and began moving it around as though his boss could see him. "Notice the un-sub says 'join me and live in satisfaction.' This un-sub truly believes that if the victims were with her their lives would be better off. She obviously has a history with women who fit a certain physical description."

"Mother perhaps," Hotch suggested.

"Perhaps," Reid conceded, "But more likely a sister or cousin considering the younger ages of the women."

"Okay, good work Reid. Anywhere with the physical description?"

"She's probably in her early twenties to mid-thirties based on the age of her victims. Highly organised, she's controlled the evidence thus far, so probably a business woman. She may have a history of abuse or neglect from other female figure in her life, which could explain why she targets these women."

"Okay, keep it up. We'll be in touch later. Get onto Garcia to see if anyone matches that description," Hotch said in his business only voice before ending the call.

Seeing that his call with Hotch had ended Reid turned back to the board, only to spin back around and smile in delight as young female officer bought him his coffee.

"Your coffee, Dr. Reid," She announced as though she hadn't realised he had already seen the coffee in her hands.

"Thankyou," He said, excitement lacing his voice, his mind had been screaming for caffeine for the last hour.

Turning back to the board again he went to press Garcia's name in his contact list but became distracted by a small cough behind him. Turning he saw the officer still standing there.

"Uh, can I help you?" He asked awkwardly before realising it may have sounded a little rude, "I mean, is there something you need?"

The officer blushed slightly. Reid then realised she may have only wanted to watch the investigation and hurried to fix the situation.

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you," He gushed and walked back towards the young woman.

She blushed further, ducking her head slightly.

"No, Dr. Reid," She said, trying to rescue herself from the situation, "I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.

"Yes, thankyou," He said simply, determined not to make a fool of himself.

The woman nodded, and then exited the room.

Reid raised his drink to his mouth and took a sip of his coffee. He cringed. It was the same cheap coffee as at the bureau. Refocusing, he dialled Garcia's number.

"Hey hot stuff," She greeted him.

"Hi Garcia, its Reid,"

"Spencer! I looked up the list of local women who were on medication for illnesses like schizophrenia and paranoia. There were surprisingly few names, five to be exact."

"Excellent!" Reid exclaimed, "Any of them in their early twenties and mid-thirties?"

Garcia tapped away at her keyboard, her large pink ring a blur.

"Yes two. But you won't like this," She warned.

Reid frowned, "Oh?"

"Both names belong to women who have already been abducted by our un-sub."

"So she's targeting mentally ill women. At least she was," He said emphasising the last word.

"What shall I search for now my cherub?"

"Uh, look for local women with histories of abuse and neglect at the hands of other women. She's probably a business woman,"

"On it!"

**Thanks for reading this! Don't stress, this isn't turning into a Reid romance fiction. Please leave a review. **


	8. Chapter 8

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 7**

JJ walked with her fellow agent up to the cheap flat of Lorna Coral who had shared the residence with her Mother and young sister. It was an inexpensive and rundown building. Stains marked most of the cream walls and a mixture of cigarettes, alcohol and weed scented the building.

"Nice place," She said sarcastically.

Morgan said nothing, just nodded in response to her comment. JJ looked up at the agent. His silence was concerning.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked gently.

He sighed.

"Just worried about Emily I guess," He revealed.

JJ stopped walking and placed her hand on his arm.

"We're all worried," She said truthfully, "But we have to trust that Hotch has made the right decision by allowing her stay on the case. Besides, she'll be with Rossi."

"I guess," Morgan responded, "Hey, we're here."

They had arrived at a flat on the second floor of the three story building. The door was cheap and thin, covered in an uneven layer of white paint. Morgan knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a skinny middle-aged woman with long, thinning blonde hair and squinting green eyes.

"Ma'am, this is Special Agent Jereau, and I'm Special Agent Morgan. We're from the FBI. Do you mind if we come in to speak with you for a moment?"

The woman, who had not said a word, nodded and opened the door a little wider to allow them in.

"Can I get yous anything to drink?" She asked. He voice has naturally high and sharp, but not unkind.

"No, thankyou," JJ declined with a kind smile.

"Oh, well…" She then gestured to the small couch that had been shoved against a wall behind the dining room table. The woman offered them the couch and then sat herself down on a wooden dining room chair.

"Ma'am…" Morgan began only to be cut off by the woman who held out her hand to stop him.

"Kate, please," She informed him with an amused smile.

"Kate," Morgan began again, "We're here to ask you a few questions regarding the disappearance of your eldest daughter, Lorna. We think that whoever took her may be targeting other women."

Kate's smile turned down a little and her eyes became sad and distant. JJ noticed the change on her face and jumped into action.

"Kate. I know you would prefer not to talk about it, but anything you could tell us might help us prevent this happening again to another person's daughter."

"It's okay agent," Kate assured them, resting her delicate hands on her lap and the smoothing out invisible wrinkles on her floral maxi-skirt, "I'm happy to help."

Morgan lent forward.

"How long had Lorna been working across the street?"

The woman placed a hand to one of her prominent cheek bones as she thought.

"About three months. She struggled to find work due to her illness and she was never well enough to attend school. So the owner, Mark, took pity on her and gave her a few shifts a week cleaning after hours."

JJ's interest grew.

"How ill was she?"

Kate let out a defeated sigh.

"Lorna was not physically ill. Not in terms of the flu or anything like that. She was…" Kate hesitated, "mentally ill."

Morgan drew his brows together.

"Could you elaborate for us?"

"Lorna was, Oh, I'm not sure. She was becoming delusional and even a little paranoid. She was convinced that the government was out to get her. She became forgetful and couldn't perform basic tasks like showering. She was suspicious of everyone, which is why Mark gave her shifts after the customers left."

Morgan stood after she finished.

"Kate, is it okay if I borrow your bathroom? We were in a bit of a rush to get here and I didn't have time."

Kate looked up at him with a quizzical expression. She nodded, granting him permission.

"Down the hall, last door on the left. Please try not to wake Chloe, I just got her down for a nap."

JJ frowned, confused. There had been plenty of time for Morgan to make us of the amenities at the station. However, determined not to waste a second, JJ took advantage of her alone time with Kate.

"So, did you find it hard to live with Lorna or was she beginning to take control of her condition just before she vanished?"

Kate looked uneasy.

"I feel guilty saying this, but she was difficult to live with. I wasn't able to do anything about it though, even with my new job at the hospitable I can barely make rent with only Chloe and I," Kate explained, "I celebrated when I got that job. We all get free check-ups at the clinic now. I was hoping to take Lorna in…" Kate trailed off.

JJ reached out her hand and covered Kate's to reassure her.

"We'll do everything we can to find out what happened to her."

**#boom. Let me know what your thoughts are. **


	9. Chapter 9

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 8**

Hotch walked into their temporary office at the Stafford police station. He thought it a rather bland and unappealing room. The pale walls and flickering lights reminded him of the high school he had once attended. Checking about the room as he adjusted his suit he saw that the various members of his team had now retuned from each of their tasks.

"Everybody," He called, "If we could gather around the middle table."

Sitting down at the head of the rectangular table we watched as each member of the team ambled over to make their contribution to the case. After each had taken their place he turned to JJ and Morgan.

"What can you tell us about the first victim?" He asked them.

"Lorna Coral is, or was, a seventeen-year-old high school dropout who did after hours cleaning at the café across the street from her apartment. Her Mother described her as mentally ill and paranoid." JJ spoke up.

Reid lent onto the table so he could better see JJ.

"It almost sounds like un-diagnosed schizophrenia, don't you think? Practically unheard of at such a young age, was she on any medication?"

"The Mother said she couldn't afford it."

"That's odd. When I called Garcia earlier she found that the second and third victims also suffered from similar conditions, although, both were medicated and in the system. I was thinking maybe she's targeting mentally ill women, specifically those who bear the symptoms of schizophrenia." Reid offered.

"But that doesn't match the last victim and it doesn't explain why she would target me," Emily let out.

"Could be doing it for a reason, I mean, if she's delusional or even schizophrenic or paranoid herself, there's no telling what she'll do next," Morgan offered.

"Rossi, Prentiss, what did you get from the last victims roommate?" Hotch asked.

"The roommate offered almost nothing helpful. She said they had a maid that ran away to get married, but nothing other than that. Although, judging from their apartment, there was a fair bit of money between the two of them," Emily said.

"Good work," Hotch said, drawing the conversation to an end, "I've decided we will all be staying here in Stafford rather than driving to and from the bureau every day. That way we are closer together and we can keep an eye on Emily's stalker. It's nearly dinner time now, go to your rooms, get some rest and we'll re-group in the morning.

**Yet another short chapter, wooh! Please leave some constructive criticism. **


	10. Chapter 10

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 9**

Rossi stood in the centre of his room. It was a budget hotel with identical rooms for its guests spread throughout its two levels. Each room had yellow walls that were probably used to lift the mood of those who stayed there, however, due to the lower quality of the paint it had faded into a vomit like colour. The room Rossi was in had one small double bed with cheap linen that had been placed in the centre of the wall nearest to the door. On each side of the bed were older looing bedside tables. The one on the right had a black radio alarm clock and a blue lamp, the other help a magazine and a crocked blue lamp.

"Lovely," He mumbled to himself.

Placing his dark, leather travel bag at the end of the bed he opened it up and pulled out the suit he intended to wear the next day. He was in the process of hanging it onto a closet door when he was disturbed by a knock at the door. Walking briskly across the room he flung open the thin door to find Emily, still dressed in her blouse and business pants, bag in hand and her gun holstered to her hip.

Rossi looked at her quizzically.

"Can I help you?"

Emily lifted her chin, instantly becoming defensive.

"Look, Rossi, just let me in and I'll explain everything,"

Rossi stepped aside as she brushed past him, throwing her belongings onto a small armchair in the corner of the room.

"So, uh, you plan on staying here tonight?" He asked with a small grin.

Emily rolled her eyes and glared at the other agent.

"Don't get any ideas," She warned.

Rossi shook his head, chuckling lightly to himself.

"Why are you here and not in your room?"

Emily held her glare.

"Because JJ isn't in her room,"

Rossi raised a thick eyebrow.

"That doesn't explain why you're here,"

He had a feeling that he knew the reason, but he wanted her to say it. Emily looked around, desperately, and then walked towards her friend.

"Dave, I think someone is watching me in my room. More than that, I think that someone is in there,"

He frowned down at her, concern showing in his eyes.

"Okay, stay here tonight. I'll sleep on the floor,"

Rossi turned from the other agent and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Morgan," He said when the other agent picked up his phone.

"Can you and Reid check out Prentiss' room?"

Emily heard Morgan reply, but could not pick out his exact words. Rossi looked at Prentiss and smiled.

"No she's fine. She's here with me now," Rossi reassured the other agent.

More muffled words came from Morgan.

"Okay, thanks," Rossi said as he pressed the end call button.

Morgan put down his phone slowly. The very idea of someone trying to hurt Emily made him sick to the stomach. He also frowned at the thought of her running to Rossi for help. He looked across the small room that had only differed from Rossi's in the fact that it held two single beds rather than one double bed. He looked over at Reid, who sat cross-legged on the further bed from the door. The younger agent tilted his head slightly.

"Everything okay?" Reid asked.

Morgan threw up one of his dark hands in frustration.

"Rossi said that Emily will be staying in his room since she is convinced that someone is watching her in her own room,"

A frown appeared on Reid's face.

"What worries you more, the fact that Emily may be being spied on, or the idea of her staying with Rossi?"

Morgan shot the younger agent a sharp glare.

"He wants the two of us to run over and check it out for her," He said, choosing to ignore Reid's taunt.

He caught a glimpse of Reid rolling his eyes.

"Bring your gun, let's go," Morgan ordered.

The two exited the room, searching the bland carpeted hallway for any signs of suspicious activity. They moved stealthily down two doors to the room that had been designated to agent Prentiss. Morgan put his hand on the metal handle, than turning to Reid, they both nodded, confirming their readiness to proceed. Morgan opened the door, allowing Reid to walk past him with his gun held firmly in both hands. The agents scanned the dull room before Morgan gave the clearance to move into the connected bathroom. Nothing unusual was found in the monochromatic bathroom. The small china wash basin, mouldy mirror and leaky taps testified the normalness of the cheap room.

"Nothing," Morgan whispered.

"Closet," Reid said.

Morgan nodded in response. Walking back into the other room Morgan walked over to the old, wooden closet. Reid stepped back and aimed his gun, prepared for the worst. The two agents shared a quick glance before Morgan flung open the doors.

Reid dropped his arms, his jaw going with them.

"What in the world!" He exclaimed.

Morgan felt a chill run up his spine.

"Call in Hotch,"

**Please leave a kind and encouraging review, and thankyou for taking the time to read this. **


	11. Chapter 11

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 10**

It was not the cupboard itself that had rendered the agents nearly speechless, but rather, its contents. Within its dark walls it held a silver metal rod that held ten wooden hangers, on each hanger hung a small Polaroid picture of Special Agent Emily Prentiss as she carried out her business from earlier on that day. Stapled to the back of each of these was a small cut out sheet of paper with tidy hand writing that read;

Join me and live in satisfaction

Turn your back and face the unknown

Hotch looked over these notes, a frown forming on his mouth.

"She's going to strike tonight. Or she was until Emily moved to Rossi's room," He said to Morgan and Reid.

"You don't think she'll wait the one month period?" Reid asked, "It's extremely rare for an un-sub who has shown us how meticulous she is numerous times before to alter he pattern to this extent."

Reid stood between Hotch and Morgan, looking at both of them as they watched the forensics team scour the cupboard for clues.

"Well, if she saw Emily with us than she would have known that Emily is part of the team investigating the disappearances," Morgan said.

"Knowing that, she would know that she has to strike before we catch on," Reid finished for Morgan, understanding where his thoughts had been going.

A member of the forensics team called to them;

"We have something,"

The young forensics officer walked towards them carrying a small dish.

"What is it?" Hotch asked.

Reid looked into the dish.

"Hair," then looking closer he said, "Long, blonde hair."

"It's blonde," Morgan re-iterated, "Not like the previous victims and nothing like Emily's,"

Hotch gave Morgan a single nod.

"Well, if we needed any more confirmation that our un-sub is a woman, we have it." Hotch said.

Morgan placed a hand on Reid's shoulder.

"Good work genius," He said to him.

Turning back to the forensics officer, Hotch ordered him;

"Take it to the lab, we need results as soon as they can get some," Then turning to Reid he said, "Go to the hotel manager. Ask him if there are any blondes working for him,"

Reid nodded in agreement and turned out of the room to hurry down the hall and find the manager.

Hotch watched as the youngest member of the team hurried to do his bidding.

"Morgan. Go to Rossi's room and let them know what we've found. Then call Garcia and bring her up to date on the case."

Morgan nodded.

Hotch let out a weary sigh ad the agent left the room, leaving him alone with the quickly dispersing forensics team.

**Short chapter, sorry. Please let me know what you think. I'm interested to know, who do you think the un-sub will be?**


	12. Chapter 12

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 11**

The room was dark and cold. When she let out her breath she could just make out the steam in the stale air. Mikayla Upton sat hunched under a set of wooden stairs in the large basement, her left arm and right leg shackled to a wooden support beam ass if she were an uncontrollable animal. Her head felt heavy, yet light at the same time and she was beginning to see small lights dancing in front of her eyes. A weeks' worth of dust and sweat covered her face and hair. On her left leg was a long, deep scratch that was surrounded by deep purple bruising. Her dark and normally straight hair was now matted and covered in blood from an escape attempt made on her first night of captivity. She heard a low moan from across the room. The others were waking up. Mikayla had spent the first night of her captivity thinking she was alone, but as the sun had crept through the crate covered window she had been able to make out the silhouettes of two other women. She had learnt their names. The younger was a disturbed girl named Lorna, the older one was a quiet lady named Carrie, who had mentioned having a family. Once Mikayla had found out about Carrie's family she had felt relieved that she herself had never been able to find the right person to settle down with and a start a family. She would have hated to cause so much concern.

"Kaya," Came to soft whisper that Mikayla new belonged to Lorna.

Mikayla worried for the girl, she sounded as though it was taking all of her energy to form even the simplest words. She seemed weak, probably dehydrated. The poor girl was lying on a camping bed that had been nailed down to the wooden floor. There were no need for chains with Lorna; she was too weak to even think about escaping.

"Yes Lorna," She replied, her own throat stinging from the lack of fluid her body had not received.

There was a moment of heavy silence; Mikayla feared that Lorna may have passed on in that moment.

"Just checkin' on ya," Lorna finally rasped.

Above her head a door squeaked open. Mikayla felt herself stiffen and unconsciously held her breath as she saw the outline of her attacker though the gaps of the stairs above her. She walked with a slight skip, as though she was merely going to a meadow to collect some daisies for her mother and she always swung her arms.

Lorna moaned from across the room, trying to turn on her back to hide from the woman who had now arrived at the bottom of the steps.

The woman skipped to Lorna and stared down at her for a second, a cruel smile playing on her chubby face.

"Well Sammie, ready to behave?"

Lorna did not respond, she simply took some chest rattling breathes that made Mikayla feel sick inside.

The woman leaned closer to Lorna's face.

"Answer me Sammie," She pressed with a smile still playing on her face.

Lorna still did nothing, too weak to answer even if she had wanted to.

The woman frowned and sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking Lorna's dirty hair.

"You're being very rude Sammie." The woman warned, breathing heavily onto Lorna's neck.

Lorna cracked a mud caked eye open and looked at the woman. Her thin lips opening slightly.

"No," she murmured.

The woman suddenly reached her plump arm forward and grabbed a handful of Lorna's hair and wrenched her head backwards, causing Lorna to cry out. Another figure sat up across the room.

"No!" Carrie cried, desperately reaching out her shackled arms to Lorna in a vain attempt to save her.

The woman ignored her, keeping her dark eyes focussed on her current victim.

"Sammie! You must never dis-respect me! You filthy woman, you see what you've done," she screamed into Lorna's ear as her face turned red and veins appeared in her short neck.

"Leave her!" Mikayla screamed, desperately pulling at her shackles in an attempt to reach the younger woman. She felt tears stream down her face as she struggled against the restraints.

The woman continued to ignore her. She leant over and began whispering into Lorna's ear.

"Sammie," She said. "You can't leave your room until you clean it. You can't play, you can't read. You'll stay in here forever if you have to."

The woman threw Lorna's head back down onto the bed. Still ignoring the other's cries she skipped out of the room, arms swinging.

**Please leave a review and thankyou for reading this. **


	13. Chapter 13

**The Villain in the Mirror – Chapter 12**

Reid hurried back to Rossi's hotel room where the team had agreed to gather after carrying out their duties. He felt tired and stiff. Holding in a yawn he glanced at his watch, revealing that it was only 10:00pm. Walking down the hall he had sprinted up over an hour ago, he arrived at the correct room, where he knocked once and then let himself in.

"Nothing from the manager, he said it's a family owned and operated business and I noticed that everyone in his family had either grey or dark brown hair," he announced.

Reid took a moment, realising he had ruined something but not quite sure what.

Morgan and Prentiss sat at the end of the bed with their bodies facing each other. They glared at Reid, beyond irritated at the interruption.

Reid looked between the two, his mouth moving soundlessly as he tried to redeem himself. Eventually he found his voice.

"Uh, we, uh, we agreed to meet here, didn't we?" He asked, suddenly unsure.

Morgan and Prentiss shared a quick glance before Morgan stood and walked over to Reid and stood next to him.

"What else did you find, kid," He asked, trying to remove the thick atmosphere.

Reid again looked between the two before pushing on with his findings.

"I, uh, asked him if he had noticed anything suspicious and he mentioned seeing a blonde woman across the street an hour or so after we arrived. Apparently she was staring at one of the windows," Reid said, his words gaining speed as his confidence built.

Emily's face became downcast as she drifted into deep thought.

"Did you say that the hair in the cupboard was long and blonde?" She asked cautiously.

Reid caught onto her thinking instantly.

"It is completely possible that the woman across the street is our un-sub,"

"I'll call in Hotch," Morgan offered.

The team gathered the next morning at the Stafford police station, all exhausted from an eventful night.

Reid stood alone in the break room, scooping large amounts of sugar into his coffee, desperate to feel the caffeine and sugar combination work its magic in his body. His clothes did little to hide his weary state, the purple and black combination drew out the paleness of his skin and the dark circles around his eyes. He continued to stand in the well-lit cream and white kitchen, absent mindedly stirring his coffee. His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet cough beside him.

"Dr. Reid?" Asked the petite brunette officer who had so kindly brought him his coffee yesterday, Reid looked at he in surprise, not having heard her enter the room. He raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee, not ready to speak to anyone yet.

The young lady looked confused by his silence, but decided to continue anyway.

"Dr. Reid," She said again with a forced confidence, "I was wondering, would it be okay if I followed you around today?"

Reid's eyes snapped up and made contact with hers before rushing back down to his coffee cup, wishing to escape the awkward situation.

"I, uh. You would have to talk to my boss," He explained in a mumble.

The woman's eyes widened and her high cheekbones filled with colour.

"Oh, yes, for the case. I'm glad you understand," She said.

Reid nodded to her and glanced at her badge.

"McKenzie," He muttered.

She stared at him, looking slightly in awe,

"Yes," She nearly whispered.

Reid's head snapped up as he realized he had spoken aloud.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just checking your name tag," he said gesturing to the badge on her uniform, "I'll talk to Hotch."

He gave her a small nod and smile before escaping the break room to join the relative safety of the temporary office where the rest of his team waited for him.

JJ looked from her place at the table situated in the centre of the office to see Reid walking into the room looking puzzled and slightly pink in the face. She craned her neck to look past him and though the glass window and saw an attractive young woman staring after him with a small smile plastered on her delicate face. JJ shook her head, chuckling to herself. It amazed her that Reid, with all his genius and eidetic memory and life experience, still could not speak to an attractive woman without stumbling over his words or turning red in the face. She watched as he took his place at the table and set his coffee down.

Morgan smiled and winked at him.

"Got a fan Dr. Reid?" He teased.

Reid's fading blush came back in full force.

"Come on you guy's" He said, "She asked if she could help with the investigation," Reid finished, directing this toward Hotch.

Hotch thought for a moment and then nodded his approval.

"She can help you here in the office," he approved.

"Woot wooh!" Emily teased.

"Reid's got a girlfriend!" Morgan chimed.

"The case, guys?" Reid pushed, desperate for the attention to be off of him.

"Yes, someone call Garcia and put her on speaker phone, and then we'll begin," Hotch instructed, ending the gentle, friendly jabs at Reid.

Morgan pulled out his phone and dialled Garcia's number.

"Speak to me," the cheery voice from the other end of the line greeted them.

"Hey Baby Girl, you're on speaker phone." Morgan greeted her in his usual flirtatious manner.

"What do you have for me?" Asked Garcia.

"Last night we found a strong lead," Emily began, "A long strand of blonde hair was found in my cupboard and the hotel manager gave a description of a blonde woman staring at my room from across the street."

"Okay, give me a description," Garcia ordered.

"Long blonde hair with a fair complexion, she was rather tall around 5'10 or 5'11 and slightly plump. The hotel owner said he noticed a red mark, maybe a burn or a birth mark on the side of her face and neck." Reid said, moving his hands as he spoke.

There was a moments silence as Garcia tapped away at her keyboard.

"Hu, guys." She finally said.

"That's never a good line," JJ said, her blue eyes widening.

"What is it Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"Well," She began, "I wanted to find out more about the victims, so I looked up medical records etcetera, etcetera. I also looked up their Facebook accounts." She said pausing for a moment.

"And…" Rossi pushed.

"The woman you've described has a perfect match with the picture I'm currently looking at." Garcia continued.

"A friend of the victim?" Asked Emily.

"No," Garcia said, "One of the victims herself."

**#boom. Please let me know what your thoughts are. ;) **


End file.
